Report: Ga., Md., DC stumbled in school reform

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Federal officials say schools in Georgia, Maryland and the District of Columbia have stumbled in making progress under the Obama administration's Race to the Top grants.

The Washington Post (http://wapo.st/WWLxBQ) reports the Education Department flagged the three jurisdictions Thursday in a progress report on states that received $4 billion in grants. The states are in the third year of the four-year grants.

None of the grantees have been ordered to return funds. But Georgia has been moved into a "high risk" category, in part for struggles implementing a new teacher-evaluation system.

Officials say the greatest failure in D.C. was it moved to improve only one of 13 low-performing schools. Maryland has had difficulties hiring staff to run data systems aimed at improving instruction and in developing a new teacher-evaluation system.

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Information from: The Washington Post, http://www.washingtonpost.com

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